Bullpen brought Owens to KU

By Kevin Haskin, Topeka Capital-Journal, October 3, 2009

A bad bullpen gets credit for a save in the career of Ted Owens.

The former Kansas basketball coach, who will be inducted Sunday in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, was coaching baseball at Cameron State Junior College in Lawton, Okla., when he was told to high-tail it to Lawrence and interview for a spot on Dick Harp's staff.

The timing stunk. Cameron was involved in regional playoffs and appeared likely to advance after jumping to a 12-0 lead. It appeared Owens was stuck in a dugout.

"Then I managed to coach them into a 13-12 loss," Owens recalled, laughing.

The rest is wrapped in crimson and blue. Owens joined the KU staff, was promoted to head coach in 1964 and guided the Jayhawks for 19 seasons. His 348-182 (.657) record makes him the third winningest coach at KU behind Phog Allen and Roy Williams.

In this, the year Owens turned 80, the time has come to celebrate his achievements.

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame this summer -- a tribute to the Hollis native who played basketball for his home-state Sooners after he was initially awarded a partial scholarship to play football. Owens also is enshrined in the school hall of fame at Cameron, which is now a four-year university.

The latest induction class for the Kansas sports hall is composed of 14 members who will be honored Sunday at a ceremony in Wichita.

Among all those recognized, Owens may be the latest to be depicted in a movie.

His was a small part in "Glory Road," the story of Texas Western's improbable run under coach Don Haskins to the 1966 NCAA basketball championship. Owens' Jayhawks lost in double-overtime to the Miners in the regional final.

"The only thing that was bad about the movie is I'm a lot better looking than Haskins," Owens cracked. "He had this handsome guy playing him and then there was this little short, dumpy guy playing me. That's what really bothered me."

Not really. What pained Owens, and does to this day, was the ruling that All-American Jo Jo White stepped out of bounds while canning a long jumper at the end of the first OT. Had the shot counted, KU would have advanced to the Final Four.

"Obviously, Hollywood put a little of their own spin to it," Owens said. "The movie showed Jo Jo having stepped out by a good yard over there, and we aren't sure he stepped out at all. But we're all the way across the court, and now camera angles would easily show if he stepped out or not."

Ever the class act, Owens credited Haskins for quickly assembling a great champion.

Still, Owens will forever maintain the 23-4 squad in 1966 was one of KU's finest.

"But it didn't make it to the Final Four," he said. "Teams many times are recognized for Final Fours and that sort of thing. But that team, I think, was at least one of the five best teams in Kansas history. They were excellent players."

Owens, of course, went on to guide Kansas to two Final Four appearances (1971, '74) in seven NCAA Tournament berths. In addition, he directed the Jayhawks to six Big Eight championships.

Although he lives in Tulsa and still works as an investment advisor, Owens often attends KU games and admires the Oklahoman who now commands the primary seat on the Jayhawks bench. Not long ago, Owens joined Bill Self as part of a group that went on a golf junket to Scotland.

"I'm loving it having Bill there," Owens said. "He's doing an incredible job. He's just so complete -- a great recruiter, a great communicator, an outstanding coach, a good man. And he's so good about including all of us from the past."

The past will be what Owens recalls Sunday during his induction speech. Many of his former KU players are expected to attend, as well as his wife Michelle and four children -- Nancy, Kelly, Teddy and Taylor.

He will mention others who can't be there, including Harp and his OU coach, Bruce Drake, as well as rival coaches he developed fond relationships with in the Big Eight. The family Owens grew up on an Oklahoma cotton farm during the Great Depression -- parents Homer and Annie, and brothers Fred and Quinton -- also will be remembered.

"It's really special when things like this happen late in life," Owens said. "I've often thought sometimes we give awards too soon, because it's really later in life that you appreciate them the most."